Ten Things Wrong With Sprawl

This paper presents and discusses ten negative attributes of urban sprawl. (1) Sprawl communities enable loss of support for public amenities and public facilities. These include libraries, parks, and museums. (2) Sprawl weakens infrastructure maintenance. (3) Sprawl increases transportation costs for society. (4) Sprawl uses more resources - such as concrete, metal, energy and asphalt - than other patterns of development. (5) Sprawl disconnects and isolates poor people in urban areas from jobs. (6) Sprawl development necessitates that people spend more time driving on the roads. (7) Sprawl contributes to the deterioration of air and water quality. (8) Habitats are permanently destroyed or altered by sprawl. (9) It is difficult to maintain communities when they are located in neighborhoods that are part of sprawl development. (10) Sprawl appears to offer choice to individuals but ends up actually reducing choice.